That’s a variant spelling of Ann Jillian — the extra “n” was also how she was billed for her portrayal of Little Bo Peep in Disney’s Babes In Toyland. Ann, of course, is to be adored for many things — among them It’s A Living.

The 16 year-old me adored that show; the adult me wants to watch it again. I can’t be the only one… Why isn’t that show available on DVD or Netflix or something?

This funky album cover was my first introduction to the Parchis. According to Wikipedia, “the group’s name is a reference to the board game, Parcheesi (translated as Parchís in Spanish), where each player represents a different colored pawn (red, yellow, blue, and green). In the same way, each member of the group dressed in one of these four colors with the fifth member representing the dice.” The vinyl was too badly scratched for me to buy it. Maybe next time.

I had to snatch-up this self-titled Toni Basil LP (her second album; 1983, Chrysalis Records) for 99 cents.

Inside my head, I’m saying, “Hey, how come I don’t know any of the songs? …Space Walkin’ The Dog has to be awesome!” Pleased with myself, I bring it on home, clean it off (including the pieces of paper from inside the sleeve which are stuck to the edges of the vinyl), and give it a spin on the turntable.

Now I know why I never heard of it.

It truly is unremarkable.

The LP cover has stickers and identifying markings showing this CBS “Promotion Only” copy was previously the property of KVSC, the college radio station for St. Cloud State University, MN. Primarily this is noted because even the alternative college stations couldn’t make this record rock back then; and they don’t want it in their collections now either. This dog, space walked or not, won’t hunt.

But that doesn’t mean I won’t give it another listen. You have to do that just to be sure… Otherwise you sell it and hate yourself for it later — when you have to buy it back at ten times the price.

Been there; can’t afford that.

In any case, the video for Space Walkin’ The Dog has lots of kitsch value:

Spotted in the thrift store today, Calendar Girl, by Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra. In this cheesy pandering LP, the recordings are organized by month and the songs are those with girls names. (More on my vintage vinyl scores to come.)

You might not be old enough to remember this, but back in the day, even before the Golden Age Of Album Art, this was one of the ways you showed off your record collection and musical taste. Do that with your MP3s, yo.